In a message dated 09-25-99, Murray Lesser said to All about "It's not quite
over"

Hi Murray,

ML>    I have been a subscriber to IBM Internet Connection Services
ML>(ibm.net) since Warp 3 was a pup.

As have I.

ML>As you may remember, IBM sold this
ML>operation to AT&T last year for a mess of pottage and several other
ML>considerations.

It was making a profit, so it was worth selling. [Business logic for the
90's]

ML>This morning, I downloaded an e-mail from ibm.net
ML>discussing the changeover from my ibm.net account to an equivalent AT&T
ML>account, which would take place starting Oct 1, this year.  (Forwarding
ML>service will be available until Oct 1, 2000.)

I received a similar e-mail.

ML>    It appears that the newly constituted AT&T Business Internet
ML>Services will provide "the technology" (and services available) of the
ML>former IBM Internet Connection Services (prices not quoted).  I gather
ML>that I must point my browser to the page mentioned before Oct 1, or I
ML>will be swept automatically into WorldNet, which I will be unable to
ML>access :-(.

I don't recall seeing that. However, I am billed through GBINET not USINET.
Since AT&T don't have a major presence in this country, it is likely that
GBINET customers will simply remain in the "business" domain. They have told
me that my new mail address will be:

    dwnoon@attglobal.net

which is a little different from the domain AT&T uses for its WorldNet (TM)
subscriptions (read: AIHU). So, I guess we non-Americans are treated with
marginally more respect than you Americans are by AT&T. [Lurkers: that's a
joke!] My main concern is that they are dropping the ibm.net forwarding
after 1st October 2000. This means that everybody who sends mail to me will
have to use the new address within 12 months. As a software author, I
provide support for my programs through this mailbox. It means that I now
have to change the documentation of the various programs I have distributed
and upload them once more to Pete Norloff's BBS, Hobbes, Leo, etc.

Given this overhead, I will likely change to some other ISP and use that
address as the new support mailbox. It also means that users of that
software will have to have:

   i)  contacted me in the interim to pick up the new address;
  ii)  have a newer copy of the software with the new address documented;
 iii)  work out for themselves what has changed.

Unless IBM is wanting to reuse the ibm.net domain -- and why would they? --
I cannot understand why AT&T insists on removing the forwarding after a
year. I guess their marketing guys felt that it reflected too accurately the
origins of the company's "professional quality" operation.

Regards

Dave

___
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